Sleepy Again
by Cezille07
Summary: For a second time, Zick falls asleep...but this time it won't only be Elena who'll catch him.


**Sleepy Again**

_Cezille07_

For a second time, Zick falls asleep...but this time it won't only be Elena who'll catch him.

Note: Some texts sentences are in Filipino, but there's a glossary in the end. I just thought it would be a bit more authentic if I used Filipino. And another thing, I'm pretty consistent with my notations—bold for Voice Dom and italics for thoughts and emphasis.

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own anything in this story but the plot.

* * *

It was like this sleepy drunkenness took control of him as the teacher's voice seemed to trail away, into nothing more than gusts of wind through the leaves or the whirring of electric fans overhead.

He had spent the night polishing his essay on the colonization of Asian countries. Unfortunately, the reference he found was in deep Filipino, and as free online translators for this language were never accurate, it took the entire evening to straighten out ten pages of grammatical errors, and as a result—only an hour's rest, and this intoxicating, almost empty, state of mind.

He yawned for the tenth time....

"Will you cut your yawning please?" Elena whispered impatiently, "It's driving me insane! I can't focus on the lesson!"

Zick blinked and laid his head on the table. "I'm sorry, I can't help it. I didn't get much sleep last night," he said languidly, trying to suppress the eleventh yawn. "The writer of my essay's reference was really into history and didn't give me an easy time translating."

"Translating? From what language?"

"It was Filipino, or something like that."

"I found that reference too, but just as I was about to start looking up online translators, the teacher called me to say it was cancelled!"

"What?!"

"Yeah, so I never bothered with the assignment anymore."

"Why didn't I get a call?!"

Elena shrugged. "I dunno, ask Bombo if he ate the phone."

Zick gulped down the twelfth yawn and closed his eyes. He was going to talk to Bombo later about eating household appliances, his mind thought mechanically. The droning voice of the teacher...the cool afternoon sunlight...everything was comfortable....

* * *

His eyes snapped open. He was no longer in the classroom—it wasn't like any of the places he knew. No students, no _people_. It was an odd, colorless place, far from whatever 'civilization' meant.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" he called out. Only his own voice answered back, "Hello? Hello? Hello? Anyone here? Here? Here?"

He took a step forward, then back again. "Hello? Hello? Hello?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a shadow moving. "Who's there? There? There?"

No response.

"Show yourself! Yourself! Self! Self!"

And suddenly, a different voice talked back. "Ikaw, magtago ka...."

He shuddered for a moment. Where's Elena? What is this place? Was it real?

The voice spoke again. "Lumapit ka rito! Magatago ka! Darating na 'yung mga sundalo!"

"What? Sorry?"

"Kailangan naming ng tulong, mahina ang aming mga pwersa! Magagapi nila kami. Iligtas mo ang sarili mo habang may panahon pa!"

It was only then that the speaker emerged from among the bushes for protection as he waited for his death. He bore several gunshots all over his body. He was something of militia, judging by his clothes. "Sa kabila ng aking pagsisikap, heto ako, handa nang mamatay. Hindi ito ang una nilang pagsalakay! Parating na ang karagdagang pwersang Kastila. Ito na ang wakas ng Pilipinas, ang wakas ng anumang pag-asa na makalaya sa mga mananakop...."

"Wh-what...what are you saying? You need my help?" Zick asked. Of course he couldn't understand a word the man was saying. "You're being...invaded or something?"

Yes, there was something like this in the ten pages of Filipino text he found on the Spanish invasion of the Philippines. A man shot in the mountains, some country invading them. Random names popped up in his head. But what event was this?

"Iho, tumakbo ka na. Sabihan mo ang bayan mo, itago mo ang pamilya mo sa malayo, kahit saan, sa bundok o sa gubat—" The man started breathing with difficulty, wheezing and convulsing. He was covered in heavy sweat, in a dark aura.... Moments later, he was dead.

Dead? "NO!" Zick approached the man, but it was too late. "What should I do?!"

He did the only thing he could do. He ran down the path, followed it to wherever it led. Minutes later he came upon a burning village. Some cruel invaders set fire upon the peaceful dwellers, now crying and homeless. Several men in uniforms were beheading adult males, while the women and children were being herded into a truck.

"Stop! **Stop! **What are you doing?!" he yelled. Two men looked at him, then at each other. They came closer, greedy smiles etched on their faces. "Hey," Zick let out. "**Don't come any closer!**"

The men stopped. They shook viciously, trying to break free of the binding force that held them.

"What are you, Gorkas or something?" Whatever they were, they obeyed. Good. "**Tell your friends to stop doing this.**" On the other hand, they might not understand English either. But any shot was a shot good enough. "**Do it now.**"

The others' attentions were now on him.

"**Okay now, pack up and head home!**"

This time, it didn't do anything. They remained observing him.

It was a good time to wake up now.

They came closer, now salivating.

"Hey! **I warn you, stay away from me!**" He fired a ray of Dom Energy. It stunned them, knocked some out. He ran back for the forest, the remaining men tailing him closely. "**Stop it! Stop!**" Another ray of Dom Energy, a third, an endless assault. But the more he fired, the faster they moved. They were catching up, he was barely ahead of them. "**NO!**"

* * *

"Zick? Wake up, will you?!"

Funny, that was Elena's voice.

"Zick! Stop firing your Energy Dom inside the classroom and open your eyes!"

_WHAT?! _

He stood up abruptly. Everyone was looking at him. "Uhmm," he began. He saw Patty and Mattie whispering animatedly behind their hands, Ford and Soup randomly shaking in fear, and the teacher examining him.

"What was that, Mr. Zick?" the professor asked.

"What?" he gulped.

"What you were doing just now."

Elena hit her head with her hand and groaned. "Sleepy again. Next time I'll do your homework for you," she mumbled. "This is _exactly_ why you need me."

* * *

Glossary:

Ikaw, magtago ka. – You, hide yourself.

Lumapit ka rito! Magatago ka! Darating na 'yung mga sundalo! – Come here! Hide! The soldiers are coming!

Kailangan naming ng tulong, mahina ang aming mga pwersa! Magagapi nila kami. Iligtas mo ang sarili mo habang may panahon pa! – We need help, our forces are weak! They'll defeat us. Save yourself while there's still time!

Sa kabila ng aking pagsisikap, heto ako, handa nang mamatay. Hindi ito ang una nilang pagsalakay! Parating na ang karagdagang pwersang Kastila. Ito na ang wakas ng Pilipinas, ang wakas ng anumang pag-asa na makalaya sa mga mananakop.... – In spite of my efforts, here I am, ready to die. This is not their first invasion. Additional Spanish forces are coming. This is the end of the Philippines, the end of any hope of freedom from our conquerors....

Iho, tumakbo ka na. Sabihan mo ang bayan mo, itago mo ang pamilya mo sa malayo, kahit saan, sa bundok o sa gubat— - Young boy, run now. Tell your town, hide your family far away, anywhere, in the mountain or in the forest—

A/N: In case you were wondering, the man was Andres Bonifacio, the leader of the Katipuneros (see Wikpedia for more info). Thanks for reading! :)


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